A TERRIBLE LOVE (A Terrible love #1) by Marata Eros-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 2013

Jess Mackey is living a meticulously fabricated lie of necessity. She’s left the secret tragedy of her past behind along with who she was and is forging ahead with a clean slate. But Jess soon discovers that passion can’t be left behind—neither her own, nor that of the one man who sees who she really is…and whose unexpected presence may breach the peaceful life Jess has painstakingly created for herself.

Devin Castile didn’t expect to meet a young woman who may be the missing puzzle piece to his existence…and who is also the victim of a heinous crime. Devin convinces himself that he can remain emotionally distant even while indulging his physical desire for her. But when Jess’s lies begin to crumble in the face of their undeniable attraction and the truth is revealed, one of them might pay with their life.

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REVIEW: A TERRIBLE LOVE is the first storyline in Marata Eros (aka Tamara Rose Blodgett) contemporary new adult series-A Terrible Love. A companion novel -A Brutal Tenderness –that parallels the timeline in A Terrible Love was released in August 2013, written in the hero’s POV. It is the same story, but told from Devin Castile’s point of view and much of the storyline overlaps.

The premise of A Terrible Love follows university sophomore Jess Mackey, who for the previous two years, has hidden a secret and her true identity from everyone at school. A former ballet student who once had aspirations of a dancing career, Jess is on the run, hiding in the halls of a post secondary institution, hoping that her past and her family do not uncover her whereabouts. But fate has not been kind to Jess, now that two men are vying for her affection. And in the end, her secrets will place everyone she knows and loves in danger and some of them will not survive.

A Terrible Love is a story of mystery, suspense and a building relationship. The reader is taken on a roller coaster ride of one woman’s indecision that threatens to destroy them all and the past that comes full circle.

The storyline also features a love triangle that set my anxiety radar into over drive. Although this isn’t a young adult storyline-the heroine’s attitude as it pertained to her safety; the men in her life; and the potential for a very bad outcome was immature and ill conceived. Jess instinctively wants both men-one is safe (as far as she knows) and one is the epitome of the bad boy-tattoos, leather and foul language. And to add more mystery, there is a serial killer on the loose on campus, and the killer has recently upped his body count and his intent.

What ensues is a bitter and ugly battle for Jess Mackey’s affections and one that disguises a deadly intent. The relationship between Jess and Devin is one of forbidden love and sensuality; Devin wants the one woman he has sworn to protect and their antics will become fuel for those hoping to bring them down.

A Terrible Love is an interesting storyline about a woman with a secret past, who is desperately trying to remain hidden behind the façade of someone else. But her past will eventually catch up, and when it does, no one is safe from its’ deadly reach.

Copy supplied by the publisher.

Reviewed by Sandy